Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass insisted Celtic’s winner in a rousing 3-2 Pittodrie battle should have been disallowed and said he was then warned not to approach referee Willie Collum to complain about it at full-time.
On a night when goals from James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos were easing title rivals Rangers to a 2-0 win over Hibs, the prospect of dropped points for the league leaders was in the Pittodrie air when Ange Postecoglou’s side let slip a two-goal lead.
Jota scored his second and Celtic’s third after Aberdeen had equalised from 2-0 down but Liel Abada was offside and appeared to interfere with play by blocking defender David Bates.
“To me looking from the side he looks offside,” said Glass. “Regardless, he fouls [David] Bates and stops him from getting back to Jota who scores the goal. I was warned or told before the end of the game not to go on the pitch and speak to the referee. He didn’t tell two managers, he told one. Maybe he has realised he has made a mistake. The fourth official was told to tell us not to speak on the pitch after the game.”
Celtic manager Postecoglou was again delighted as his side extended their unbeaten domestic run to 24 games. “It’s not an easy place to come and win. It was important to come here and continue our form,” he said. “It’s not like we’ve had it easy at any stage, including today. We’ve had to fight for it.”
Postecoglou said he was baffled that an Aberdeen fan was able to invade the pitch in the second half, take a selfie with Joe Hart and then return to the stand with no one stopping him. “It was like he had a free pass because he just wandered off and got back to his seat. I don’t like that because I always fear that you just don’t know what’s coming. At the end of the day it was harmless enough.”
At Ibrox, Morelos continued the form that has given Rangers a much-needed lift with a goal in the comfortable win over Hibs, whose struggles under their new manager Shaun Maloney appear to be continuing apace.
Morelos and Tavernier, who scored an early penalty, ensured that Rangers stayed just a point behind Celtic, to whom they lost in the recent Old Firm derby.
Morelos was away on international duty when his club slipped to that dismal defeat at Celtic Park, but he has been outstanding since his return to Scotland. Having scored twice against Hearts last weekend, he made the points safe against Hibs with a clinical finish early in the second half.
Joe Aribo, the Rangers midfielder, admitted that Morelos had made a difference in each of their past two games. “He has been amazing since he has been back,” said Aribo. “The boys are loving him. He is strong, he can finish on both feet. It is amazing to have him.”
With Celtic winning again, Aribo said it was important that Rangers followed their 5-0 victory against Hearts with a triumph against the other Edinburgh club.
“We need to keep going and keep pushing. We need to play all our games like that and play with that intensity to not let the opposition be comfortable on the ball. It was important.
“We knew that we had to start fast and that is what we did do. We got in their faces and made it hard for them to settle and we are happy that we were able to get the three points.”
The result was another bitter pill for Maloney to swallow as the former Celtic attacker struggles to find a way to stop his side’s losing streak.
